


The New Tape Deck

by dragonwings948



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Ace's Tape Deck, Fluff, Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Music, Serial: s150 Silver Nemesis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:55:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25026538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonwings948/pseuds/dragonwings948
Summary: When, how, and why did the Doctor build Ace a new tape deck?
Relationships: Seventh Doctor & Ace McShane
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	The New Tape Deck

Ace wasn’t sure why there was a room full of karaoke buses on the TARDIS, but she didn’t ask questions.

One day she’d been exploring while the Doctor was preoccupied and had stumbled upon the strange room. She’d been extremely confused and boarded one of the buses out of curiosity. After fiddling with the controls a bit, cool blue lights had come on and an instrumental version of some rock and roll song had started playing.

Ace had thought the whole thing extremely odd, especially since the thirteen buses parked side by side had nowhere to go. They were stuck in a wide, warehouse-like space with no other door but a single human-sized one. What was the point?

And yet, she’d come back. After the Daleks destroyed her tape deck, Ace found her need of music insatiable. So she went into one of the karaoke buses, plopped down in a seat, and worked out improved Nitro-9 formulas while instrumental music for various songs played in the background. Sometimes she’d even turn on the coloured lighting. Though the music wasn’t ideal, at least it was something.

That’s how she found herself stretched across two seats inside a karaoke bus, listening to the instrumental of “Don’t Stop Me Now” and idly humming the tune to go along with it. She balanced a spiral-bound notebook on her knees as she scribbled furiously. Currently, she was trying to work out a formula for an even better explosive, something more compact than Nitro-9…

“Ace?”

Ace froze. She stood quickly in the aisle, fearful that she was doing something wrong. The Doctor had never said she _couldn’t_ be in here, but sometimes he disapproved of the things she found while poking around in the TARDIS.

Just as she planted her feet the Doctor appeared at the top of the steps. He frowned, his bushy eyebrows furrowing comically over his eyes.

“What on earth are you doing in here?”

“Just working on stuff.” She held up the notebook as proof. “How’d you know I was in here anyway?”

Without a word the Doctor stepped forward and extended his hand. Seeing the blue badge in his palm, Ace looked down at her jacket and realised that one of her Blue Peter badges was, indeed, missing.

“Found it near the door,” the Doctor explained.

Ace snatched it from his hand and pinned it back onto her jacket. “Thanks, Professor.”

The song changed to a cringe-worthy disco track. The Doctor’s frown deepened. “Disco?”

“The music helps me think. Not all of it’s great, but it’s all I’ve got now.”

“What about—? Oh. Hmm.” The Doctor’s expression softened. He put a hand to his chin. “We’ll have to see about getting you a new one,” he murmured to himself.

“What?”

“I said we’ll have to see about getting you a new tape deck,” he repeated, raising his voice a little, “since the Daleks so rudely destroyed yours.”

Ace grinned. “Really, Professor? You’d get me a new one?”

He gently tapped her on the nose. “Like I said, I’ll see what I can do.”

* * *

When Ace awoke, she thought she could hear music.

Curious, she quickly dressed for the day and followed the sound down the TARDIS corridor a few doors. Finally, she identified the source in a specific room and opened the door.

“Scrapple from the Apple” by Charlie Parker blared in her face. Ace slapped her hands over her ears and ventured inside to see the Doctor doing exactly the same.

“What’s going on?” she called over the smooth tones of a saxophone.

The Doctor shouted something back, but Ace didn’t quite catch it.

_“What?”_

The Doctor blew air from his cheeks and bent down to turn a dial on a rather interesting looking tape deck. The music faded away. “I was just testing out your new tape deck.”

Ace blinked. “That’s _mine?”_

The Doctor beamed a wide grin and spread out his arm grandly. “All yours.”

Ace smiled and rushed forward to examine it, crouching down to get a better look. “Wicked!” The sound quality and the fact that it could produce such loud music without blowing out its speakers was already a testament to how well it worked. She glanced up at the Doctor. “Thanks, Professor! Where’d you get it?”

He stood proudly as he announced, “I made it.”

“You what?” Ace looked at the tape deck again, so intricately crafted, then back at the Doctor. “You really did?”

“Of course! It was easy.”

Ace took a good look at the tape deck again and wondered if he was lying about it having been easy to make. It had been weeks since he’d said he’d find her a new one.

Regardless, he’d obviously put a lot of effort into it, just for her. Ace straightened up and found she couldn’t quite look him in the eye. Why did she feel tears coming on too?

“I’ve…well, I haven’t gotten many presents before. Definitely not one like this.” She shuffled her feet. How could she convey how much it meant to her? “Thank you. Really.”

When she met the Doctor’s eyes, his expression was warm. “I know, Ace.” He opened his arms, and she gratefully jumped into his embrace.

“I assume you like it then?”

Ace pulled away from him so he could see her smile. “Yeah!” She paused. “Can I keep the Charlie Parker tape too?”

The Doctor rolled his eyes and huffed, but a smile remained on his lips all the same. “Yes, all right. As long as I can listen to it with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Don't ask me why I included the karaoke buses, the quote from Thirteen just popped into my head and I rolled with it XD 
> 
> Hey, if you like my writing, I just came out with a collection of my own short stories! You can check out the link in my profile if you'd like! 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading!


End file.
